Mad multiplayer idea

[Saxon]

Here is an odd idea for multiplayer that would address some concerns about balance and which would truly test the skills of veteran players.

Each player is assigned a nation and designs a pretender for it. They then give the nation to someone else, who has to play it. Meanwhile, they are given a pretender another player had designed.

Everyone would design the worst possible pretender, with the worst possible scales, making each nation as weak as possible. They would then have to try and deal with the mess made by someone else.

Sure, there would be lots of death scales, pointless magic paths and useless pretenders. That would be the challenge, you would have to play the nation, as it is, as best you could. Only the best players will be able to thrive in such an environment.

In any case, it is an idea to bat around and, as I don’t play MP, I will not be offering to organize it, but feel free to do what you like with it. Or ignore, as you see fit!

[Gandalf Parker]

Interesting.
You would probably have to make a rule that the points would HAVE to be used as much as possible.

It might also be possible to create a program which randomly creates pretenders. We would end up playing what would basically be an AI setup.

[quantum_mechani]

Gandalf Parker said:

It might also be possible to create a program which randomly creates pretenders. We would end up playing what would basically be an AI setup.

I've actually given some thought to the 'design the worst pretender and hand it to someone else' game idea in the past, but as people say, it can very easily get boring and all the same.

On the other hand, playing a game full of AI-like pretenders sounds pretty interesting...

[Cor]

How does one bypass the password problem? Wouldn't each player know at least two pass words?

[Gandalf Parker]

Well Im sure that the pretenders would be new builds so hopefully no one would use their favorite password. But yes they would still know their own pretenders password. I havent seen alot of abuse on such things yet.

I dont see this as a game that would be done OFTEN by the same people, but it might be a fun change. It might be fun if the devs actually added a "random" button on the god build. They do in a way since they give you an initial random (I think it is) choice. Ive played some test games by just hitting ok, ok, ok letting it pick the god and name. But unfortunetly it doesnt choose any scales or anything.

Gandalf Parker

[thejeff]

You could simply write down the pretender design and have a third party implement it.

[jutetrea]

I think this would be interesting only if all points had to be spent. Otherwise it'd just be boring IMO. If all points needed to be spent the player given the pretender could at least do something, even if its completely opposite the "standard" plans. Probably have to have a minimum DOM..3 maybe. Restrict imprisoned?

Awake fountain, Dom 4, magic 3, growth 3, sloth 3, misfortune 3, turmoil 3, heat 0, rainbow to path lvl 2 and spend the rest in blood (6?)

[lch]

Instead of requiring that all the points are spent, you could require that no less than 10 points are left. But I think that this doesn't lead to much variety, as people would just design dom 8, no magic pretenders with bad scales, or something.

[MaxWilson]

And dump the rest of the points into a B9 bless.

-Max

[Saxon]

One way I had seen to blow points was to take a pretender with a high cost for new paths, then make a rainbow pretender.

I am not sure the games would be boring, as you would still play dominions, but with a nation largely bereft of help from your pretender. Bless strategies would largely be out, which would face people to use the other strategies more innovatively. If nothing else, it would end the complaints about bless rushes! However, a few nations would probably be essentially useless. I am thinking Mictlan without bless would have a tough life…

Ok, how about this idea. You design pretenders/nations, then they all get put into a pool and randomly distributed among players. What strategy do you use for designing, knowing that you may, or may not, get it? Do you do a decent design, assuming everyone else does or do you design a dud in the hopes someone else gets it?